Why You Cannot Risk A Bad Hire

Maybe you’ve always relied on an internal HR team to recruit executive leadership positions—the C-Suite, VPs, executive leaders, and such. Overall, it worked reasonably well. Okay, except for that one disastrous hire, but otherwise, it’s been mostly okay.

But are you honestly willing to settle for reasonably well and mostly okay? Given the perfect storm of issues impacting facilities which serve the needs of our elderly citizens, how can you rely on yesterday’s strategies to manage today’s realities?  

Challenging times call for innovative solutions and a purposeful step away from a “but we’ve never done it that way” mindset. Multiply that sentiment by ten when it comes to recruiting executive hires for continuing care retirement communities during these unique times.

Take into consideration our aging population—factor in the increase in access to healthcare. Multiply that sum by the coronavirus pandemic waves felt across healthcare, and what do we have? An environment that is undoubtedly unique, challenging, and uncertain all at the same time. An atmosphere where, when it comes to hiring practices, an out-of-the-box way of thinking has shifted from an adventurous notion to a necessity.

Too often, the primary concern when considering an executive healthcare search firm is the investment involved rather than the benefit gained. The thought of paying for something the company could handle internally causes an organization to shy away. Rather than ask if we can afford the services of an executive recruiting firm, a better question would be, can we afford a bad executive hire?

The cost of a bad hire

Studies measuring the cost to replace an employee come with varying estimates. However, none of those estimates fall under the category of inexpensive. Most agree the cost relates to the level of the position, noting that the higher the wage, the greater the expense to replace. Estimates for a salaried employee vary from 6 to 9 months’ wages, to as high as twice the annual salary for an executive-level employee.

Imagine spending time and money on who you feel is the right person for the job, only to discover he/she has chosen not to remain with the company due to a list of irreconcilable differences. 

What if six months out it becomes all too apparent that Bob spoke a great game during the interview, but in reality, he lacks the experience or knowledge needed for the role.

Mary seemed the perfect candidate, but in less than a year, Mary and everyone under her has discovered that she doesn’t have what it takes to keep the organization moving forward.

The bottom line: adding a team member who won’t be there for the long haul will cost the company in multiple ways.

Partnering with an experienced executive recruiting firm can significantly lessen the chance of a costly bad hire and here’s how—

• A trusted healthcare search team will take the time to fully understand the landscape of the company and the challenges facing the facility before suggesting potential candidates.
• Their experienced recruiters can identify motivations, beyond those of compensation, that indicate a candidate’s level of emotional engagement. 
• Their radar is tuned toward candidates looking for a short tenure before journeying on to a new and “better” opportunity.
• Many search firms offer a guarantee of at least one year for the new hire. But the best-recruiting firms will have a much higher, longer retention rate of 3-5 years.

Let an experienced healthcare recruiting firm like LeaderStat spearhead the search for your next executive hire.